Cable and method for monitoring a cable

ABSTRACT

A cable  1  comprises a first thimble  2  and a second thimble  4 , at least one yarn  6 , and at least a first conductive fiber  8  for monitoring the cable  1 . The yarn  6  extends from the first thimble  2  to the second thimble  4 , turns around the second thimble  4 , extends from the second thimble  4  to the first thimble  2 , and turns around the first thimble  2 . Each thimble holds a stack  9  of layers  10  of turns of the yarn  6 . The first conductive fiber  8  is designed to signal the wear of the yarn  6  by breaking after a predetermined portion of the turns of the yarn  6  breaks. The first conductive fiber  8  is positioned at the first thimble  2  between the turns of the yarn  6  at less than 50% of the stack height h.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application (under 35 USC § 371) ofPCT/NL2015/050359, filed May 19, 2015, which claims benefit ofNetherlands application Nos. 2012848 and 2012849, filed May 20, 2014,the contents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field and State of the Art

The invention relates to a cable comprising a first thimble and a secondthimble, at least one yarn, and at least a first conductive fibre formonitoring the cable. The first and the second thimble are provided atopposite ends of the cable. The at least one yarn extends from the firstthimble to the second thimble, turns around the second thimble, extendsfrom the second thimble to the first thimble, and turns around the firstthimble, such that the at least one yarn forms a turn around the firstand second thimbles. Each thimble holds a stack of layers of turns ofthe at least one yarn.

A cable of this type can be used in different types of industry,including but not limited to offshore, mining and heavy lifting andconstruction. In offshore, a cable of this type may be used as a mooringline for ships and structures like a floating oil exploration orproduction facility, or for a floating wind turbine. In mining and heavylifting such a cable may be used as a pendant for a crane. Inconstruction such a cable may be used as a tension member in a bridge oras a suspension cable of a roof.

A cable of this type is known from WO-A1-2005/075286, which discloses acable that is used as a stay for sailing vessels. The stay comprisesplastic load bearing fibres, and an optical fibre which in oneembodiment can be positioned between the plastic fibres. The plasticfibres and the optical fibre extend between a first and a second thimbleand turn around these thimbles forming a stack of fibres. The exactposition of the optical fibre relative to the plastic fibres is notdescribed. A figure with a cross section of a cable of this embodimentshows that the optical fibre is positioned in the outer half of therespective strand of plastic fibres. This results in the optical fibrebeing in the upper half of the stack of fibres in the thimbles.

A measuring device of WO-A1-2005/075286 comprises the stay and a laser,which provides a light pulse at one end of the optical fibre. The lightpulse is reflected at the second end. The travelling time of the lightpulse is measured and the length of the cable is calculated from this.When the cable stretches, the optical fibre elongates, which can bederived from the prolonged travelling time of the light pulse. In orderto measure a local deformation of the optical fibre, and thus of thestay in that area, a Bragg Grating is provided on the optical fibre.

Another cable of this type is known from DE-39.24.379 (DE'379). Thiscable comprises two bundles of load bearing yarns that extend betweentwo thimbles and are joint in a middle part to form the cable, and asignal line that transfers a release signal, e.g. in case of overload orother situations. DE'379 does not disclose other purposes for the signalline. The signal line is positioned in the middle of the cable, seen incross section, i.e. between both bundles of the load bearing yarns,between the first and second thimbles. The signal line leaves the loadbearing yarns at the point where the two bundles split up to wrap aroundthe thimbles, and then exits the cable through the housing of thethimble or the thimble itself. As a result, the signal line is notpresent in the stack of layers of the first thimble between the turns ofthe yarn.

A disadvantage of the known cable from WO-A1-2005/075286 is that therelated measuring device is expensive and that it does not provide areliable prediction of the remaining life span of the cable.

The invention aims to solve at least part of these problems, or at leastto provide an alternative. In particular, the invention aims to providea cable that can be used in combination with a simple detection deviceand enables a reliable prediction of the remaining life span.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cable comprises a first thimble and a second thimble, at least oneyarn, and at least a first conductive fibre for monitoring the cable.The first and the second thimble are provided at opposite ends of thecable. The at least one yarn extends from the first thimble to thesecond thimble, turns around the second thimble, extends from the secondthimble to the first thimble, and turns around the first thimble, suchthat the at least one yarn forms a turn around the first and secondthimbles. Within the context of this document, a turn of a yarn may beeither a semi-continuous loop, or a continuous loop. The termsemi-continuous loop refers to the fact that the yarn has a finitelength with distinct ends, while in a continuous loop a yarn has noends. So in a semi-continuous loop, the at least one yarn is woundaround the first and second thimble a plurality of times, forming aplurality of loops around these thimbles, which is not completelycontinuous as the ends of the yarn are not connected to each other. Eachthimble holds a stack of layers of turns of the at least one yarn. Aninside of the stack is defined as a side of a first layer of turns ofthe at least one yarn being closest to a centre of the respectivethimble. An outside of the stack is defined as a side of a last layer ofturns of the at least one yarn being farthest away of the centre of therespective thimble. A stack height is defined as a distance from theinside of the stack to the outside of the stack. The first conductivefibre is designed to signal the wear of the yarn turns by breaking whena predetermined portion of turns of the at least one yarn breaks. Thefirst conductive fibre is positioned at the first thimble between theturns of the at least one yarn at a first predetermined height of thestack measured from the inside of the stack, and the first predeterminedheight is less than 50% of the stack height.

The invention is based on the insight that cables of this type that aresubject to a large number of load cycles fail after a prolonged period,because the varying cyclic loads result in a small movement of the firstlayer of yarn turns along the bearing surface of the thimble. Repeatingthis movement a large number of times results in wearing and breaking ofthe yarns of this lower layer. After they have broken, the next layer ofyarns starts wearing, until so many layers have worn that the remaininglayers cannot take the full load which is applied on the cable anymore,and the cable fails completely. Once the yarn turns close to theconductive fibre wear and break, the conductive fibre itself will breaktoo. By locating the conductive fibre at a predetermined height in thestack, and by measuring whether the conductive fibre is still conductiveover its full length, a user can derive that a certain part of the yarnshave broken. If the relevant material properties, such as the resistanceagainst wear, of the yarns and the conductive fibre are the same, theywill break approximately at the same time. Accordingly, the conductivefibre breaks when approximately all layers of yarns below the conductivefibre have broken. If the relevant material properties differ, i.e.either the yarns of the conductive fibre wears quicker than the otherone, the breaking will not be at the same time, but it will be possibleto determine what portion of the yarn turns have broken when theconductive fibre breaks, based on the known difference between therelevant material properties, and/or based on wear tests. The exactpredetermined height of the conductive fibre will be determined on thebasis of these differences and of the desired safety margin of thecable, i.e. the difference between the advertised break load and theactual break load of a new cable. When the conductive fibre breaks, andas a result is not conductive anymore, the user knows that a certainamount of the load of the cable is gone and that the actual break loadof the cable is close to the advertised break load and that the cableshould be replaced immediately, or within a known period of time. Bypositioning the conductive fibre at a predetermined height which is lessthan 50% of the stack height, the conductive fibre is within the lowerhalf of the yarns, and at least 50% of the yarns is still intact whenthe conductive fibre breaks. As a result, a cable according to theinvention provides a much more reliable indication of the residualstrength, and thus the wear, than the cable of WO-A1-2005/075286 ofwhich just the elongation could be measured.

It is noted that WO-2006/049226-A1 discloses a round sling comprising astrand and an annular protective bag. The strand is constituted by aprocess in which a plurality of high-strength fiber filaments such asPBO fiber are loosely twisted and then circulated by a plural number oflaps into an annular shape. Such circulated rows of the strand arearranged in parallel in a plural number of rows. A plurality of rows ofthe strand are circularly disposed side by side without being bound toeach other. An annulus constituted by such a strand is contained in ahollow annular protective bag which is freely movable and stretchableseparately from the strand. The round sling has a plurality of detectionwires comprising urethane-covered copper wires which are disposed alongthe annulus of the strand. The outer circumference of a detection wireis covered with a sheath comprising a braided rope. The sheathcomprising the braided rope is obtained by knitting and weaving spirallyfiber filaments across each other so as to form a cylinder as a whole.Inside the sheath, a reinforcing core wire is disposed along thedetection wire to reinforce the detection wire and the sheath. Thedetection wire is required to exhibit more elongation than the strand.The detection wires are disposed over almost the whole circumference ofthe strand, and further the opposite ends of the detection wiresprotrude from the inside to the outside of the strand. The protrudedends of the detection wires are connected to detection terminals. Thedegree of the damage to the strand inside the round sling can beevaluated by measuring an electrical resistance between detectionterminals every definite use period of time.

A round sling such as disclosed in WO-2006/049226-A1 does not havethimbles holding a stack of layers of turns of the strand. Accordingly,none of the detection wires of WO-2006/049226-A1 is positioned in thestack of layers of a thimble between the turns of the strand. Moreover,it is not possible to define a height of this non-present stack, nor todetermine at what height a specific detection wire is located.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the predetermined height isless than 40%, more in particular less than 30%, even more in particularless than 20% of the stack height. A lower predetermined height resultsin a cable which requires less yarn turns for the same design load, asthe conductive fibre will enable an earlier warning that a correspondingportion of the yarns have broken.

In an embodiment, the cable comprises a plurality of yarns. Inparticular, all yarns form a plurality of turns around the first andsecond thimble. Producing a cable using a plurality of yarns at the sametime results in a shorter production time.

The cable comprises a plurality of conductive fibres. The plurality ofconductive fibres includes the first conductive fibre, and is defined asa total number of conductive fibres of two or more than two. By using aplurality of conductive fibres, a more detailed and/or reliable insightin the residual strength and life expectancy of the cable is obtainable.

At least two of the plurality of conductive fibres are positioned at thefirst thimble between the turns of the at least one yarn at the firstpredetermined height, spaced apart from each other in a width directionof the first thimble. This enables a more reliable monitoring of thecable in cases of unequal loads on one of the thimbles which may resultin a quicker wear of the at least one yarn at one side, in widthdirection, of the respective thimble than at the other side.

In particular, a part of the plurality of conductive fibres ispositioned at the first thimble between the turns of the at least oneyarn at one or more further predetermined heights of the stack, whereinthe further predetermined heights of the stack are different from thefirst predetermined height of the stack. Positioning conductive fibresat different heights enables obtaining a more detailed insight in theresidual strength and life expectancy of the cable, as breaking of eachof the conductive fibres corresponds to a certain amount of wear of theyarn turns.

More in particular, the cable comprises a second conductive fibreprovided at the first thimble between the turns of the at least one yarnat a second predetermined height of the stack, and the secondpredetermined height of the stack is less than the first predeterminedheight of the stack. The second conductive fibre at a lowerpredetermined height enables a pre-warning of the wear of the cable.While the wear is not so much, that the cable needs to be replaced, thesecond conductive fibre will break when the cable is used and wears,which enables the user to observe that wear to a predetermined level hasoccurred and that actions, such as ordering a new cable, could or shouldbe performed.

In an embodiment, the first conductive fibre extends at least from thefirst thimble to the second thimble, and is positioned at the secondthimble between the turns of the at least one yarn at approximately thesame first predetermined height of the stack measured from the inside ofthe stack as at the first thimble. This embodiment provides a simplesolution for measuring the wear at both thimbles with just oneconductive fibre. The wear at one thimble might be greater than that atthe other thimble. The conductive fibre will break at the thimble wherethe wear is greatest, enabling a warning signal to the user. For theuser it is not important to know where the wear occurs, but much moreimportant to know that there is wear at one or more of the criticalpoints at one of the thimbles.

In an embodiment, the cable comprises a casing, wherein both ends of thefirst and/or optional plurality of conductive fibres are located. Thisenables a sturdy and user-friendly solution.

In an embodiment, the first and/or optional plurality of conductivefibres are optical fibres. Preferably, the optical fibre is a glassfibre or a light conducting plastic fibre. An optical fibre has theadvantage that it stops being conductive to light when it breaks,regardless of the positioning of the broken ends and/or the rest of theoptical fibre.

Preferably a light source, in particular a laser light, is continuouslyoperatively connected to one of the ends of the first optical fibre. Byconnecting a light source, a permanent detection of wear is possible.

In particular, the light source is provided in the casing. This providesa sturdy solution.

In an embodiment, the cable comprises a cable cover which extends aroundthe cable from the first thimble to the second thimble, and bundles allturns of the at least one yarn extending between the first and thesecond thimble in one compact bundle in a middle section of the cable.This results in a compact cable.

In particular, the casing is located between the middle section of thecable and one of the thimbles. There is void space between the middlesection of the cable and the thimbles. By using this space to positionthe casing, a compact and sturdy solution is achieved.

In an embodiment, the at least one yarn comprises fibres, in particularcarbon fibres, or plastic fibres, more in particular polyamide fibres,polyester fibres, polypropylene fibres, polyethylene fibres, aramidfibres, HMPE fibres, LCAP fibres, or PBO fibres. Each of these types offibres has its own properties, which makes them suitable for specificuses of the cable.

A method for monitoring a cable according to the invention, comprisesthe steps of measuring whether the first conductive fibre is stillconductive,

-   -   if the first conductive fibre is conductive repeating the        measuring after a predetermined amount of time, and    -   if the first conductive fibre is not conductive anymore, stop        using the cable within a replacement period, in particular stop        using the cable immediately.

A user who observes that the conductive fibre is still conductive isassured that at least a predetermined portion of the yarn turns is stillintact. When the conductive fibre is not conductive anymore, thisimplies that the predetermined portion of yarn turns has broken. As aresult, the cable is almost or already not safe to use anymore and needsto be replaced soon. Depending on the height of the conductive fibrewithin the stack and the related wear of yarns, the breaking of theconductive fibre could imply that the user should stop using the cableimmediately.

In an embodiment, the cable comprises a second conductive fibre providedat the first thimble between the turns of the at least one yarn at asecond predetermined height of the stack, and the second predeterminedheight of the stack is less than the first predetermined height of thestack, and the method further comprises the steps of

-   -   measuring whether the second conductive fibre is still        conductive,    -   if the second conductive fibre is conductive repeating the        measuring after a predetermined amount of time, and    -   if the second conductive fibre is not conductive anymore,        preparing to replace the cable in the future.

This embodiment of the method provides a pre-warning of the wear of thecable. An action of preparing to replace the cable could be to place anorder with a supplier of cables or the user's warehouse for a new cable.

In an embodiment, the first and/or optional second conductive fibre isan optical fibre, and the step of measuring whether the first and/oroptional second conductive fibre is still conductive is performed byemitting light, preferably laser light, at one end of the first and/oroptional second conductive fibre, and observing whether light is exitingthe other end of the first and/or optional second conductive fibre. Anoptical fibre is a reliable type of conductive fibre for this purpose,while a laser light is a very affordable means to measure.

In another aspect of the invention, a cable comprises a first thimbleand a second thimble, and at least one yarn. The first thimble and thesecond thimble are provided at opposite ends of the cable. The at leastone yarn extends from the first thimble to the second thimble, turnsaround the second thimble, extends from the second thimble to the firstthimble, and turns around the first thimble, such that the at least oneyarn forms a turn around the first and second thimbles. Each thimblecomprises a bearing surface, and holds a stack of layers of turns of theat least one yarn. A first layer of turns of the at least one yarn lieson the bearing surface of the respective thimble. The bearing surface ofat least one of the thimbles is provided with a friction reducingcoating.

Within the context of this document, a thimble is defined as a ring ofany shape and made of any material around which the at least one yarn isturned. Within the context of this document, a friction reducing coatingis a coating that provides the bearing surface with a frictioncoefficient between the bearing surface and the yarns that is lower thanthe friction coefficient between a bearing surface of manually polishedstainless steel with a surface roughness of RA of 0.3 μm and the sameyarns.

The invention is based on the insight that cables of this type that aresubject to a large number of load cycles fail after a prolonged period,because the varying cyclic loads result in a small movement of the firstlayer of yarn turns along the bearing surface of the thimble. Repetitionof this movement a large number of times results in wearing and breakingof the yarns of this lower layer. After they have broken, the next layerof yarns starts wearing, until so many layers have worn that theremaining layers can no longer take the full load applied on the cable,and the cable fails completely. By applying a friction reducing coatingon the bearing surface of the thimble, this wear is reduced, so that ittakes longer before the yarns start breaking.

In an embodiment, the friction reducing coating comprises afluoropolymer. Such a friction reducing coating has a low frictioncoefficient.

In particular, the friction reducing coating comprisespolytetrafluoroethylene. This material, as well as some related frictionreducing materials, are sold under the DuPont owned trade mark Teflon®.

In an embodiment, the bearing surfaces of both thimbles are providedwith the friction reducing coating.

In an embodiment, the thimble provided with the friction reducingcoating is a metal thimble, in particular a steel thimble. A metalthimble has good mechanical properties.

In particular, the bearing surface is pre-treated by abrasive blastingbefore applying the coating. This results in a better adhesion of thecoating to the thimble.

In particular, the bearing surface is pre-treated by polishing beforeapplying the coating. More in particular, the bearing surface ismanually polished. Such a polished surface further decreases the wear ofthe yarns.

In an embodiment, the bearing surface has a surface roughness R_(A)before applying the coating in the range of 0.1-3.0 μm. A surfaceroughness in this range provides both lower wear of the yarns, and animproved adhesion of the coating to the thimble.

In particular, the bearing surface has a surface roughness R_(A) beforeapplying the coating in the range of 0.24-0.36 μm, more in particular0.27-0.33 μm. A surface roughness in this range results in a lower wearof the yarns.

In a variant, the bearing surface has a surface roughness R_(A) beforeapplying the coating in the range of 1.6-2.4 μm, in particular 1.8-2.2μm. A surface roughness in this range provides an improved adhesion ofthe coating to the thimble.

In an embodiment, a cable with a friction reducing coating on thebearing of one or two of its thimbles has any one or more of thepreferred features defined above in relation to the cable with theconductive fibre, with none, one or a plurality of conductive fibres.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, its effects, and advantages will be explained in moredetail on the basis of the schematic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an end of a cable according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a cross section through a thimble of the cable of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a detail from FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows another detail from FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the cable of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the cable of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 shows section VII-VII from FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 shows section VIII-VIII from FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The figures show a cable according to the invention, which is denoted inits entirety by reference number 1. The cable 1 has a first thimble 2and a second thimble 4, a plurality of yarns 6, and a plurality ofconductive fibres, in this embodiment four optical fibres 8, 18, 108,118 for signalling wear of the cable 1. The first 2 and the second 4thimble are made of stainless steel, and are provided at opposite endsof the cable 1. The plurality of yarns 6 are in this embodiment tenyarns 6 which all extend from the first to the second thimble, turnaround the second thimble 4, extend from the second thimble 4 to thefirst thimble 2, and turn around the first thimble 2. In this mannereach of the plurality of yarns 6 forms a semi-continuous loop around thefirst and second thimbles. This loop is repeated a plurality of times,in this embodiment 950 times. So each of the yarns 6 makes 950 turns,resulting in a total of 9500 turns of yarns 6. The yarns 6 consist offibres, in this embodiment aramid fibres of 3220 dTex that are providedwith a marine coating. This coating makes the fibres smoother whichresults in less fibre to fibre wear. These yarns are sold under the nameTwaron® D2204 by Teijin Aramid.

FIG. 2 shows that the thimble 2 holds a stack 9 with a plurality oflayers 10 of yarn turns 6. This is shown in more detail in FIG. 3. Thesecond thimble 4 holds layers of the same yarn turns 6 in the samemanner and is thus not shown in detail.

An inside of the stack 12 is defined as a side of a first layer 13 ofyarn turns 6 being closest to a centre 14 of the thimble 2. An outsideof the stack 16 is defined as a side of a last layer 15 of yarn turns 6being farthest away from the centre 14 of the thimble 2. A stack heighth is defined as the distance from the inside of the stack 12 to theoutside of the stack 16.

The first, second, third and fourth optical fibres 8, 18, 108, 118 aredesigned to signal the wear of the yarn turns 6 by breaking when apredetermined portion of the yarn turns 6 break. The first and thirdoptical fibre 8, 108 are positioned at the first thimble 2, i.e. in thestack 9 of layers 10 of the first thimble 2, between the yarns 6 at afirst predetermined height h1 of the stack 9 measured from the inside ofthe stack 12 spaced apart in the width direction of the first thimble 2,in case there is an unequal load and resulting unequal wear of the yarnturns 6. The first predetermined height h1 is in this embodiment 15% ofthe stack height h. The first and third optical fibres 8, 108 performthe same function in this embodiment, in that they both signal when sucha portion of yarn turns 6 have broken that the cable 1 should bereplaced. Due to unequal loading, it could be that the yarn turns 6 atone side of the thimble 2 wear more quickly than at the other side.Accordingly it is advantageous to have two optical fibres 8, 108 at thesame height h1, but at opposite sides of the thimble 2. If the yarnturns 6 at one side break earlier than at the other side, this willresult in breaking of the first or third optical fibre 8, 108 which isat the side where more yarn turns 6 have broken.

The cable 1 has a second and fourth optical fibre 18, 118, which areprovided at the first thimble 2 between the yarn turns 6 at a secondpredetermined height h2 of the stack 9. The second predetermined heighth2 of the stack 9 is less than the first predetermined height h1 of thestack 9, in this case 5% of the stack height h. The second and fourthoptical fibre 18, 118 perform the same function, in that they bothprovide an early warning about the wear of the yarn turns 6. There aretwo optical fibres 18, 118 in this embodiment at the secondpredetermined height h2 of the stack 9, spaced apart in the widthdirection of the first thimble 2, in case there is an unequal load andresulting unequal wear of the yarn turns 6.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show that in this embodiment, the first optical fibre 8extends from the first thimble 2 to the second thimble 4, and ispositioned at the second thimble 4 between the yarn turns 6 at the samefirst predetermined height h1 of the stack 9 measured from the inside ofthe stack as at the first thimble 2.

FIGS. 1, 6, and 7 show a casing 20. Both ends 22, 24 of the firstoptical fibre 8 are located in the casing 20.

In this embodiment, the above description relating to the presence ofthe first optical fibre 8 at the second thimble 4, and the position ofthe ends in the casing 20 applies to the second, third, and fourthoptical fibres 18, 108, 118 too, and is not shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7far the sake of clarity.

A light source, in this embodiment a laser light 26, is provided in thecasing 20 and is operatively connected to the first end 22 of the firstoptical fibre 8. Further laser lights 26 are connected to the first endsof the second, third, and fourth optical fibre (not shown in FIG. 7).

A cable cover 28 extends around the cable 1 from the first thimble 2 tothe second thimble 4, and bundles all yarn turns 6 extending between thefirst and the second thimble 2, 4 in one compact bundle 30 in a middlesection 32 of the cable 1. In this embodiment, the cable cover 28 alsocovers the yarn turns 6 at the thimbles 2, 4. In this embodiment, thecasing 20 is located between the middle section 32 of the cable 1 andthimble 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, the first thimble 2 has a bearing surface 40. Inthis embodiment, the bearing surface 40 is a cylindrical shaped surface,wherein the centre of the cylindrical shaped surface coincides with thecentre 14 of the thimble 2. The first layer of yarn turns 6 lies on thebearing surface 40 of the thimble 2. The bearing surface 40 of thethimble 2 has been pre-treated by manually polishing the surface to asurface roughness RA of approximately 0.3 μm. The bearing surface 40 isprovided with a friction reducing coating 42, in this embodiment acoating that polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, sold under the trade markTeflon®). In this embodiment, the PTFE coating comprises a resin thatensures adhesion of the coating to the bearing surface, which coatingsystem is sold under the name Cruson 166 by Cruson Coatings B.V. Thelayer thickness of the coating is 20-30 μm. In this embodiment, thesecond thimble 4 has a bearing surface with the same shape as bearingsurface 40, and is also provided with a coating of PTFE. Applying suchcoatings 42 on a manually polished bearing surface 40 results in anincrease of the life span, in terms of the number of load cycles, of thefirst layer of yarns of approximately three to seven times the life spanof a similar layer of yarns on a bearing surface of manually polishedsteel without a coating. An extra advantage of this and other types ofcoating is that it prevents corrosion of the bearing surface.

The cable 1 is used in the following manner in an embodiment of theinvention, to monitor the cable and determine the residual strength. Auser measures whether the second and fourth optical fibres 18, 118 arestill conductive to light. To this purpose, the second and fourthoptical fibres are permanently connected to the laser lights 26, whichin turn are operatively connected to a battery (not shown). It is alsopossible to provide a switch between the battery and the laser lights26, or to connect a battery to the laser lights each time themeasurement is performed. If the second and fourth optical fibres 18,118 are conductive to light, then light will emit from the respectiveends 24 in the casing 30, which will be observed by the user. If bothends 24 emit light, then it is known that the cable 1 has at least acertain residual strength.

The measurement will be repeated after a predetermined amount of time.The length of the predetermined amount of time depends on the design anduse of the cable, and may be displayed as a graph or table in a servicemanual. If, for instance, the design life span is three years, then thepredetermined amount of time may be one or more months, but less than ayear. If the design life span is for instance ten years, or more, thenthe predetermined amount of time may be one or several years.

If it turns out at the measurement that one of, or both, the second andfourth optical fibre 18, 118 is not conductive anymore, then the userknows that yarn turns 6 that correspond to the height h2 of the secondand fourth optical fibre have worn, and that he has to prepare toreplace the cable 1 in the near future. Such preparations will typicallyinclude ordering a replacement cable.

According to this embodiment of the invention, the user repeatedlymonitors whether the first and in this case third optical fibres 8, 108are still conductive to light in the same manner as described inrelation to the second and fourth optical fibres 18, 118. As long asboth the first optical fibre 8 and the third optical fibre 108 stillemit light at their second ends 24, the cable 1 is still safe to use andthe measurement should be repeated after a predetermined amount of time.This predetermined amount of time may be specified in the servicemanual, and may be the same as, or different from, in particular shorterthan, the predetermined amount of time for measuring if the second andfourth optical fibres 18, 118 are still conductive to light. If eitherthe first optical fibre 8 the third optical fibre 108, or both, is nolonger conductive to light, the user should stop using the cable withina replacement period. In this embodiment, the replacement period is zerodays. In other words, the user should immediately stop using the cable 1and replace it with a new one.

Several variants are possible within the scope of the attached claims.The features of the above described preferred embodiment may be replacedby any other feature within the scope of the attached claims, such asthe features described in the following paragraphs.

Different types of yarns may be used, such as aramid yarns with a weightof 1610 dTex, 6440 dTex, or 4830 dTex, with or without a coating.Instead of using aramid fibres, one could use other types of fibres,such as polyamide fibres, polyester fibres, polypropylene fibres,polyethylene fibres, HMPE fibres, LCAP fibres, or PBO fibres. The cablecould even comprise other types of yarns, e.g. yarns made of carbonfibres, a metal, or a natural fibre. Yarns of fibres may consist for100% of the relevant fibre type, but could also comprise a small portionof an auxiliary material, e.g. a coating on the fibres to protect thefibres against wear and/or environmental influences. As such auxiliarymaterial is only a small portion in weight, and does not contribute tothe strength of the cable, the phrase ‘yarn consisting of fibres’ isconsidered to include embodiments with such auxiliary materials withinthe context of this document.

A cable according to the invention may be made of more or less than tenyarns, such as one yarn, two yarns, or at least five yarns. The numberof yarn turns depends on the required strength of the cable, and thestrength of one individual yarn, as well as the required safety margin.The number of yarn layers in the stack of layers depends on the requirednumber of yarn turns, and the available width in the thimble resultingin a maximum number of yarn turns in the width direction.

Although it is preferred to provide a casing and a permanent laserlight, one could also have the ends installed in a casing withoutpermanent laser light or the loose ends of the conductive fibre exitingthe cable and connect a measuring device, in case of an optical fibre alaser light, to one end of the conductive fibre each time the cable istested.

The conductive fibre can be any fibre capable of carrying a signal.Instead of an optical fibre, another type of conductivity is possiblewithin the scope of the invention, such as an electric conductive fibre,for example a carbon fibre or an electrical conductive metal fibre.

The most important location to monitor the wear is the area where theyarn turns first reach the thimble and start turning around the thimble.It would suffice within the scope of the invention to just provide aconductive fibre there, or conductive fibres at the respectiveentering/exit points of the yarn turns at each thimble.

In a simple embodiment, there may be one conductive fibre at one firstpredetermined height to signal just when the cable needs to be replacedimmediately, or at a known moment in the near future. Alternatively onecan have multiple conductive fibres at this first predetermined heightfor this purpose. In particular, the one or more conductive fibres atthe first predetermined height may be there to signal when it is time toorder a new cable. The user may continue to use the cable for a certainperiod of time when one or more of these conductive fibres are notconductive anymore, which certain period of time depends on the use,actual time to the moment that the conductive fibre was not conductiveanymore, and predicted life span of the cable. This may be displayed ina graph and/or table in the service manual.

The number of conductive fibres at the first predetermined height may beone, or two, or more than two. The number of conductive fibres at thesecond predetermined height may be zero, one, two, or more than two. Thenumber of conductive fibres at the first and second predetermined heightmay be the same, or different. At one height, there may be oneconductive fibre, while at the other height there may be multipleconductive fibres, e.g. two, three, four or more.

In an embodiment there may be conductive fibres at more than one or twopredetermined heights, in particular at three or more predeterminedheights. This increases the insight in the wear and remaining life spanof the cable.

A service manual showing the predetermined periods of time, andremaining life spans, may be a paper manual or a digital manual whichlatter may be an off-line program on a computer, or smartphone, or othersuitable digital device of a user or the supplier of the cable, and/oran on-line application on a web page.

The replacement period may be more than zero days, and depends on thedesign and life span of the cable, as well as the time that it took fromthe moment the cable came into use to the conductive fibre's failure.The replacement period may be specified in the service manual. This isin particular useful if the cable only comprises one or more conductivefibres at one height. In such an embodiment, there is no pre-warningindicating that a new cable should be ordered. It is advantageous insuch an embodiment to position the conductive fibre at a predeterminedheight, corresponding to the wear of a portion of yarn turns that isstill well within a safety limit.

Instead of inputting light at one end of an optical fibre, and observingwhether light comes out at another end, one could also input light andobserve at the same end. This can be advantageous when the cable isrelatively long, such as cables used for the mooring of floatingoffshore structures. In such an embodiment, the optical fibre isprovided with a mirror for reflecting light beyond at least one thimble.Preferably, such a mirror is a distributed Bragg reflector, such as afibre Bragg grating. If no light is reflected by the distributed Braggreflector, the optical fibre is broken between the end where the lightis inputted and measured and the distributed Bragg reflector.

In a further embodiment, the measuring of the conductive fibre is donein an automated fashion. A source of power, such as a battery or a solarpanel, is provided, as well as an electronic control circuit thatcomprises a wired or wireless transmitter, such as a WiFi transmitter ora Bluetooth transmitter, and an optical eye. The control circuitprovides an electric pulse, which is transformed into light by a laserin the case of an optical fibre. The control circuit determines whetherthe conductive fibre is still conductive, by measuring whether light, orelectric current in the case of an electric conductive fibre, comes outat the other end of the conductive fibre and activates the optical eye.The result of the measurement is transmitted to an external computer viathe transmitter. The control circuit may comprise a timer for performingthe measurement at predetermined time intervals, or may perform themeasurement on request via the external computer.

The thimble may be made of a plastic instead of a metal, or of adifferent metal than stainless steel, including but not limited todifferent steel alloys, aluminium alloys, magnesium alloys, andtitanium.

The bearing surface may have one of several shapes, such as part of acylinder, part of an ellipsoid, or another curved surface. The coatingmay comprise another fluoropolymer, such as a poly(perfluoroalkoxyalkane) (PFA), poly(fluorinated ethylene-propylene) (FEP),polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene(ECTFE), and/or polyethylenetetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). In a variant thecoating comprises micro chrome plating, tungsten disulphide (such assold under the trade mark Dicronite® by Lubrication SciencesInternational), BAM (aluminium magnesium boride), ceramic coating,titanium nitride (TiN), and/or diamond-like carbon (DLC). Severalbonding methods between the thimble and the coating are possible,depending on the type of coating and the material and pre-treatment ofthe bearing surface, including using primers, adhesives and using formfit. Instead of both, the bearing surface of just one thimble may have afriction reducing coating.

Instead of manually polishing the bearing surface, one may applyelectropolishing to the bearing surface, which results in an evensmoother surface.

It is possible to have a cable with both a friction reducing coating anda conductive fibre, as in the preferred embodiment, but it is alsoadvantageous to have a thimble without a friction reducing coating andjust a conductive fibre as claimed. In an alternative embodiment, acable has a thimble with a friction reducing coating and the cable doesnot comprise a conductive fibre.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could bemade to the embodiments described above without departing from the broadinventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that thisdisclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, butit is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cable (1), comprising: a first thimble(2) and a second thimble (4), at least one yarn (6), and at least afirst conductive fibre (8) for monitoring the cable (1), wherein thefirst thimble (2) and the second thimble (4) are provided at oppositeends of the cable (1), the at least one yarn (6) extends from the firstthimble (2) to the second thimble (4), turns around the second thimble(4), extends from the second thimble (4) to the first thimble (2), andturns around the first thimble (2), such that the at least one yarn (6)forms a turn around the first and second thimbles (2, 4), and eachthimble (2, 4) holds a stack (9) of layers (10) of turns of the at leastone yarn (6), wherein an inside of the stack (12) is defined as a sideof a first layer of turns of the at least one yarn (6) being closest toa centre (14) of the respective thimble, an outside of the stack (16) isdefined as a side of a last layer of turns of the at least one yarn (6)being farthest away of the centre (14) of the respective thimble, and astack height (h) is defined as the distance from the inside of the stack(12) to the outside of the stack (16), wherein, the first conductivefibre (8) is different from the at least one yarn and designed to signalthe wear of the at least one yarn (6) by breaking after a predeterminedportion of the turns of the at least one yarn (6) breaks, the firstconductive fibre (8) is positioned in the stack (9) of layers (10) ofthe first thimble (2) between the turns of the at least one yarn (6) ata first, predetermined height (h1) of the stack measured from the insideof the stack (12), and the first predetermined height (h1) is less than50% of the stack height (h).
 2. The cable according to claim 1, whereinthe first conductive fibre (8) is in direct contact with some of theturns of the at least one yarn (6).
 3. A cable according to claim 1,wherein a second conductive fibre (18) is positioned in the stack (9) oflayers (10) of the first thimble (2) between the turns of the at leastone yarn (6) at a second predetermined height (h2) of the stack (9),wherein the second predetermined height (h2) of the stack (9) isdifferent from the first predetermined height (h1) of the stack (9). 4.The cable according to claim 3, wherein the second predetermined height(h2) of the stack (9) is less than the first predetermined height (h1)of the stack (9).
 5. The cable (1) according to claim 1, wherein thefirst conductive fibre (8) extends at least from the first thimble (2)to the second thimble (4), and is positioned in the stack (9) of layers(10) of the second thimble (4) between the turns of the at least oneyarn (6) at approximately the same first predetermined height (h1) ofthe stack (9) measured from the inside of the stack as at the firstthimble (2).
 6. The cable (1) according to claim 1, further comprising acasing (20), wherein both ends (22, 24) of the first conductive fibre(8) are located in the casing (20).
 7. The cable (1) according to claim1, wherein the first conductive fibre (8, 18) is an optical fibre. 8.The cable (1) according to claim 7, wherein a light source isoperatively connected to one of the ends of the first optical fibre. 9.The cable (1) according to claim 8, further comprising a casing (20),wherein the light source is provided in the casing (20).
 10. The cable(1) according to claim 1, further comprising a cable cover (28) whichextends around the cable (1) from the first thimble (2) to the secondthimble (4), and bundles all turns of the at least one yarn (6)extending between the first and the second thimbles (2, 4) in onecompact bundle (30) in a middle section (32) of the cable (1).
 11. Thecable (1) according to claim 10, further comprising a casing (20), andwherein the casing (20) is located between the middle section (32) ofthe cable (1) and one of the thimbles (2).
 12. The cable (1) accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one yarn (6) comprises fibres selectedfrom the group consisting of: carbon fibres, plastic fibres, polyamidefibres, polyester fibres, polypropylene fibres, polyethylene fibres,aramid fibres, HMPE fibres, LCAP fibres, and PBO fibres.
 13. A methodfor monitoring a cable, comprising the steps of: (i) providing a cable(1) said cable (1) comprising: a first thimble (2) and a second thimble(4), at least one yarn (6), and at least a first conductive fibre (8)for monitoring the cable (1), wherein the first thimble (2) and thesecond thimble (4) are provided at opposite ends of the cable (1), theat least one yarn (6) extends from the first thimble (2) to the secondthimble (4), turns around the second thimble (4), extends from thesecond thimble (4) to the first thimble (2), and turns around the firstthimble (2), such that the at least one yarn (6) forms a turn around thefirst and second thimbles (2, 4), and each thimble (2, 4) holds a stack(9) of layers (10) of turns of the at least one yarn (6), wherein aninside of the stack (12) is defined as a side of a first layer of turnsof the at least one yarn (6) being closest to a centre (14) of therespective thimble, an outside of the stack (16) is defined as a side ofa last layer of turns of the at least one yarn (6) being farthest awayof the centre (14) of the respective thimble, and a stack height (h) isdefined as the distance from the inside of the stack (12) to the outsideof the stack (16), wherein, the first conductive fibre (8) is differentfrom the at least one yarn and designed to signal the wear of the atleast one yarn (6) by breaking after a predetermined portion of theturns of the at least one yarn (6) breaks, the first conductive fibre(8) is positioned in the stack (9) of layers (10) of the first thimble(2) between the turns of the at least one yarn (6) at a firstpredetermined height (h1) of the stack measured from the inside of thestack (12), and the first predetermined height (h1) is less than 50% ofthe stack height (h); (ii) measuring whether the first conductive fibre(8) is still conductive; (iii) if the first conductive fibre (8) isconductive, repeating the measuring after a predetermined amount oftime; and (iv) if the first conductive fibre (8) is not conductiveanymore, stop using the cable within a replacement period orimmediately.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the cable (1)comprises a second conductive fibre (18) which is provided in the stack(9) of layers (10) of the first thimble (2) between the turns of the atleast one yarn (6) at a second predetermined height of the stack (h2),and the second predetermined height (h2) of the stack is less than thefirst predetermined height (h1) of the stack, and the method furthercomprises the steps of: (v) measuring whether the second conductivefibre (18) is still conductive; (vi) if the second conductive fibre (18)is conductive, repeating the measuring after a predetermined amount oftime; and (vii) if the second conductive fibre (18) is not conductiveanymore, preparing to replace the cable (1) in the future.
 15. The cableaccording to claim 1, comprising a second conductive fibre (108),wherein the first and second conductive fibres (8, 108) are positionedin the stack (9) of layers (10) of the first thimble (2) between theturns of the at least one yarn (6) at the first predetermined height(h1), spaced apart from each other in a width direction of the firstthimble (2).
 16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the cable (1)comprises a second conductive fibre (108), and the first and secondconductive fibres (8, 108) are positioned in the stack (9) of layers(10) of the first thimble (2) between the turns of the at least one yarn(6) at the first predetermined height (h1), spaced apart from each otherin a width direction of the first thimble (2), and the method furthercomprises the steps of (v) measuring whether the first and secondconductive fibres (8, 108) are still conductive, (vi) if the first andsecond conductive fibres (8, 108) are both conductive, repeating themeasuring after a predetermined amount of time, and (vii) if either oneor both of the first and second conductive fibres (8, 108) is notconductive anymore, stop using the cable within a replacement period orimmediately.